It's been a BUSY 3 weeks since I last wrote. Traveling with the student group was wonderful. It was almost identical to the trip Felix and I did last year, with a few minor changes. The trip started in Kampala. We showed the students all of the Come, Let's Dance projects - the farm, school, and slumbase - and put them to work for a few days painting, cleaning, etc. Then we headed up north to Lira for a few days. Northern Uganda was hit pretty hard during the Civil War and by the Lord's Resistance Army. We spoke to some child soldiers at a rehabilitation center - young boys and girls who were pulled out of their beds as children and manipulated and forced to kill their own family members. Their strength, faith, and ability to forgive is both humbling and awe-inspiring. We also visited our friend Sister Jovita at her women's clinic, and ended at an Internally Displaced Persons Camp, where people were sent when they needed to evacuate their own villages during the war. Our next stop was Murchison Falls where we did a short game drive and safari.
Next was my favorite spot in Uganda, Lake Bunyoni. This is one place I would safely guarantee anyone would LOVE. It is the most peaceful spot I've ever been to. We promised one of the hotel employees we would visit his village and the school he runs, so during the day, Jamie, 2 other students, and I took a "motor" boat to an island on the other side of the lake. The word motor is used loosely - it was a large hand carved wooden boat with a temperamental motor precariously attached to the back. After a 45 minute boat ride, we pulled up to an island where we were then told we had a 30 minute hike to the school. At that point, we were all a little bitter we had chosen to spend our day venturing out there when we could have been relaxing on the dock, swimming, and drinking a few beers. We got off the boat and began the hike to the village. Words cannot explain how incredible the next few hours were, but I'll do my best to paint you a picture.
Most of the children had never seen white people. They lingered around us and darted away the instant we would turn to look at them; but their curiosity led them up the hill trailing behind us. We would run towards them and they would quickly disperse in every direction. By the time we were at the top of the hill, there was a crowd of kids surrounding us. We attempted to introduce ourselves and shake hands, but most of them wouldn't come within more than 5 feet of us. We walked into a run-down, unfinished church and sat in the first few rows. Within a few seconds, kids were pouring into the church through the doors and through the windows. We were soon surrounded by at least 300 kids, each one more daring than the next, inching closer and closer to me on the bench. Such an unforgettable moment - and the view from outside of the church was literally breathtaking. To one side was the green hills lined with small huts and piles of bricks, and to the other side was scattered islands on the lake. I'm so glad none of us brought our cameras because no picture would have done the sight any justice. The village was called Kubungo, or beautiful village, and that's exactly what it was.
The next day we headed to Rwanda. We spent 2 nights in Ruhengeri and one night in Kigali, the capital city. It's unbelievable how different Uganda and Rwanda are. They are neighboring countries but so insanely different. Rwanda has paved roads, traffic lights, actual infrastructure, no sewage running through the streets, or burning trash piles, or corruption. But in spite of how it seemingly feels so under control and calm, there's still an odd, unsettling feeling I have when I'm there. Rwanda saw some awful stuff during the genocide, less than 20 years ago. The people still seem to be living in fear - at about 8 pm, the city eerily shuts down and no one is out on the streets. Could not be more different from Kampala.
Overall, the trip was great. Although I did most of the same things last year, I was in a different role this year as a trip coordinator. It kind of desensitized me to a lot of the things we saw because I was so concerned with budget and schedule constraints. But it was really neat to watch everyone else experience the trip for the first time. We had a lot of really good group conversations. I loved hearing new opinions and listening to how the trip affected each individual.
After a 10 hour bus ride, getting "home" to Kampala was wonderful! I missed the people, the food, and my bed! The whole first week I was back, I worked at the slumbase and substitute taught at our school. The slumbase is well under way. We've been gardening, painting, cleaning, shopping, planning, outreaching/marketing - and the medical clinic, Global Institute office, and multi-purpose community room should be up and running soon. I know that soon is a relative term here in Uganda, but we're making BIG progress which feels good. I substituted in the 3rd/4th grade class for the week. We did general education activities like newspaper readings, book work, and arts and crafts. All day Friday we did HIV testing on all the students. As sad as it was watching all the tantrums and tears from the finger prick, the results were so much better than we expected - only 1 out of our 70 students tested positive.
I spent Friday afternoon at the kid's house/orphanage just hanging out and painting nails. It was a nice change of pace from a long work-filled week. Every day I fall more and more in love with each kid, and can't imagine ever leaving them.
Nicola and Tim (Felix's sister and her husband) were wrapping up their trip through Uganda this weekend, so I spent Saturday with them in Kampala. I showed them a glimpse of the work I've been doing and took them on a small tour through the Katanga slum. I am so glad they were able to make time for me and it means SO much that they came! Sunday, we all went rafting on the Nile, which was crazy! Besides my near-death experience on the last rapid and my thighs being burnt to a crisp, it was such a great day!! I have spent a lot of time with both Nic and Tim, but Felix is usually there too. And as much as I miss Felix, it was really nice spending time with them on my own. I think we laughed the whole day, even when we were swimming upstream against the current to get back to the raft. I'm excited to see them in Dubai in just 2 months :)
A family from Steamboat, CO, the Andersons, arrived a few days ago. They are a wonderful family and a great addition to the group. This morning during breakfast, the 16-year old daughter hugged her dad and he kissed her forehead and just smiled at her. It was so sweet and made me miss my dad a lot.
Life is still so good and as cliche as it sounds, each day really is a new adventure. I don't think I'll ever get over how lucky I am to have such an incredible support system in my life. I love and miss all of you very much!
Next was my favorite spot in Uganda, Lake Bunyoni. This is one place I would safely guarantee anyone would LOVE. It is the most peaceful spot I've ever been to. We promised one of the hotel employees we would visit his village and the school he runs, so during the day, Jamie, 2 other students, and I took a "motor" boat to an island on the other side of the lake. The word motor is used loosely - it was a large hand carved wooden boat with a temperamental motor precariously attached to the back. After a 45 minute boat ride, we pulled up to an island where we were then told we had a 30 minute hike to the school. At that point, we were all a little bitter we had chosen to spend our day venturing out there when we could have been relaxing on the dock, swimming, and drinking a few beers. We got off the boat and began the hike to the village. Words cannot explain how incredible the next few hours were, but I'll do my best to paint you a picture.
Most of the children had never seen white people. They lingered around us and darted away the instant we would turn to look at them; but their curiosity led them up the hill trailing behind us. We would run towards them and they would quickly disperse in every direction. By the time we were at the top of the hill, there was a crowd of kids surrounding us. We attempted to introduce ourselves and shake hands, but most of them wouldn't come within more than 5 feet of us. We walked into a run-down, unfinished church and sat in the first few rows. Within a few seconds, kids were pouring into the church through the doors and through the windows. We were soon surrounded by at least 300 kids, each one more daring than the next, inching closer and closer to me on the bench. Such an unforgettable moment - and the view from outside of the church was literally breathtaking. To one side was the green hills lined with small huts and piles of bricks, and to the other side was scattered islands on the lake. I'm so glad none of us brought our cameras because no picture would have done the sight any justice. The village was called Kubungo, or beautiful village, and that's exactly what it was.
The next day we headed to Rwanda. We spent 2 nights in Ruhengeri and one night in Kigali, the capital city. It's unbelievable how different Uganda and Rwanda are. They are neighboring countries but so insanely different. Rwanda has paved roads, traffic lights, actual infrastructure, no sewage running through the streets, or burning trash piles, or corruption. But in spite of how it seemingly feels so under control and calm, there's still an odd, unsettling feeling I have when I'm there. Rwanda saw some awful stuff during the genocide, less than 20 years ago. The people still seem to be living in fear - at about 8 pm, the city eerily shuts down and no one is out on the streets. Could not be more different from Kampala.
Overall, the trip was great. Although I did most of the same things last year, I was in a different role this year as a trip coordinator. It kind of desensitized me to a lot of the things we saw because I was so concerned with budget and schedule constraints. But it was really neat to watch everyone else experience the trip for the first time. We had a lot of really good group conversations. I loved hearing new opinions and listening to how the trip affected each individual.
After a 10 hour bus ride, getting "home" to Kampala was wonderful! I missed the people, the food, and my bed! The whole first week I was back, I worked at the slumbase and substitute taught at our school. The slumbase is well under way. We've been gardening, painting, cleaning, shopping, planning, outreaching/marketing - and the medical clinic, Global Institute office, and multi-purpose community room should be up and running soon. I know that soon is a relative term here in Uganda, but we're making BIG progress which feels good. I substituted in the 3rd/4th grade class for the week. We did general education activities like newspaper readings, book work, and arts and crafts. All day Friday we did HIV testing on all the students. As sad as it was watching all the tantrums and tears from the finger prick, the results were so much better than we expected - only 1 out of our 70 students tested positive.
I spent Friday afternoon at the kid's house/orphanage just hanging out and painting nails. It was a nice change of pace from a long work-filled week. Every day I fall more and more in love with each kid, and can't imagine ever leaving them.
A family from Steamboat, CO, the Andersons, arrived a few days ago. They are a wonderful family and a great addition to the group. This morning during breakfast, the 16-year old daughter hugged her dad and he kissed her forehead and just smiled at her. It was so sweet and made me miss my dad a lot.
Life is still so good and as cliche as it sounds, each day really is a new adventure. I don't think I'll ever get over how lucky I am to have such an incredible support system in my life. I love and miss all of you very much!
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